Where is David?

[ecarvalho]

As a very new customer of Unication (in fact mine isn't even here yet) I have to wonder about their tech support. Why not just post firmware updates on your site? Why involve your retail people in issuing firmware updates? I mean what happens when my seller stops being a seller? Why must I send an email for a link to the PPS software? Why do these people want to even be hassled? Just post the links on your site. Now if there are legitimate reasons I freely appologize . Just seems like your rules make it harder for the customer.

I believe is because the product itself is not designed for the general consumer market. It is a pager designed for the professional so firmware updates are typically handled by a department admin so users don’t have to worry about it.



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[troymail]

I suspect another reason might be because future firmware releases - Phase 2 in particular - will probably require contacting a vendor to obtain (and pay for) the firmware update.

However, as far as I know, there will still be firmware updates released with bug fixes, etc. that do not enable Phase 2 - at least, I thought I'd heard/read that somewhere.

 

[TwoWayTim]

I believe is because the product itself is not designed for the general consumer market. It is a pager designed for the professional so firmware updates are typically handled by a department admin so users don’t have to worry about it.



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Firmware updates have to be tested by the System Admins before they are rolled out. Not all firmware updates are always wanted or needed depending on the system.
Like stated above, these devices arent designed to be "cool" to play with. Lives are on the line and updating something with a bug, or resetting the pager programming could have disastrous results.

No offense to first responders, but they are great at what they do. They are not usually the best when it comes to being computer geeks.

 

[ecarvalho]

Firmware updates have to be tested by the System Admins before they are rolled out. Not all firmware updates are always wanted or needed depending on the system.

Like stated above, these devices arent designed to be "cool" to play with. Lives are on the line and updating something with a bug, or resetting the pager programming could have disastrous results.



No offense to first responders, but they are great at what they do. They are not usually the best when it comes to being computer geeks.

Agreed


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[troymail]

Firmware updates have to be tested by the System Admins before they are rolled out. Not all firmware updates are always wanted or needed depending on the system.
Like stated above, these devices arent designed to be "cool" to play with. Lives are on the line and updating something with a bug, or resetting the pager programming could have disastrous results.

No offense to first responders, but they are great at what they do. They are not usually the best when it comes to being computer geeks.

I'll only partially agree.... We can fully agree that we all want to ensure that the pagers function (and continue to function) for their primary purpose. Some of the limitations are by design created for first responders such that - other than switching to the wrong zone/knob - they just work (i.e. the user can't "tinker" with them).

That in itself could be a reason for more controls being put on the PPS software, etc. The last thing you want is for a first responder - who was issued an "officially programmed" pager to be using the PPS to reprogram it to their liking....

Having said that - although non-first responders are not the primary customer or user, we are still customers. Chances are that this group - not making bulk purchases - paid more for their unit(s) than the first responder organizations themselves.

I fully support the position that Unication can (and maybe should) ignore "feature requests" from this subset of customers - many of which could result in disastrous affects on the primary user base.

However, we are still paying customers. If Unication didn't want us to be using the devices, asking questions and/or for support, they shouldn't have allowed them to be sold to us and taken our money to start with (but that horse has already left the barn).

 

[TwoWayTim]

Valid points, but how do you stop the sale of a product? Who really deserves to have one? Unication does not sell the devices. They sell to dealers. Dealers make all the profits above dealer pricing.

 

[troymail]

Valid points, but how do you stop the sale of a product? Who really deserves to have one? Unication does not sell the devices. They sell to dealers. Dealers make all the profits above dealer pricing.

Fairly easily - verify who you are selling to and control the programming software - as in license to a specific computer so as to not allow it to function on other than that PC - which is essentially what (I suspect) they will do with the Phase 2 functionality (licensed to a device/serial number).

You can't allow the sale (actually direct marketing) of a product to other than intended users and then deny they are customers.

Users of all types can request anything they want - that doesn't mean it will (or should) ever happen.

Look - I am not here trying to bash Unication or David - not in the least. -- and that wasn't why I started this thread. They make a great product. I was just curious if anyone had heard from him lately as he had been fairly responsive to at least emails that that seems to have stopped. My most recent emails were asking for assistance to help Unication identify why the G4/G5 doesn't work on some systems - a conversation I've had in the past with David.

However, I will disagree when someone says - essentially - although we've purchased a product that a company (and/or it's dealers) willing sold to us - that we don't matter. That's where I will draw the line.

 

[JMR3865]

I am having issues with the phase 2 on my G5. I was told by my dealer to email David. I'm waiting for a response.

I'm sure it has something to do with the holidays. Lets everyone relax and enjoy our holidays

Happy New Years

 

[mdsxfire]

Firmware updates have to be tested by the System Admins before they are rolled out. Not all firmware updates are always wanted or needed depending on the system.

Like stated above, these devices arent designed to be "cool" to play with. Lives are on the line and updating something with a bug, or resetting the pager programming could have disastrous results.



No offense to first responders, but they are great at what they do. They are not usually the best when it comes to being computer geeks.

I have been a volunteer F/F for 20yrs, LEO for 11, and a computer/gadget geek as long as I can remember, I used to love messing with my scanners seeing who I could hear etc. these pagers are something I’ve been tasked by my FD to look into as we transition to our counties phase 2 system. The recent firmware bug of hearing Unprogrammed TGs does pose an issue when responding to a call being the county system has a lot of agencies on it that could pop through. I don’t believe it’s a life safety issue as I would know it’s not my dept, but I do hope they address it when the next firmware comes out, hopefully soon!


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[mdsxfire]

I am having issues with the phase 2 on my G5. I was told by my dealer to email David. I'm waiting for a response.

I'm sure it has something to do with the holidays. Lets everyone relax and enjoy our holidays

Happy New Years

Ummmmm your G5 has phase 2 firmware?


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[JMR3865]

Ummmmm your G5 has phase 2 firmware?


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Yes, beta testing.

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[mdsxfire]

You’re argument makes absolutely zero sense. As I posted above, let’s say a public safety agency wants to monitor their analog dispatch channel on knob position 1 and then they use a P25 trunked system for response and operations, let’s call it talkgroup FIRE 1, in knob position 2. This is so members, many of which are volunteer across the majority of the U.S., can monitor situations enroute, etc. So after the initial page, I change my PAGER (because that’s what it is) to monitor or scan one or more talkgroups (BECAUSE THATS WHAT IT WAS DESIGNED FOR). But while I’m monitoring THAT talkgroup, I’m hearing comms for some DPW guys come through instead after a firmware update. A firmware tested and released by the company. Get off your soap box.


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My other post touched on this, as a responder who does monitor ops as I’m responding It def could get confusing and annoying to have other convo pieces come through as I’m trying to figure out what’s happening at our call


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[mdsxfire]

Yes, beta testing.

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Oh nice, I thought the beta was over? Have they been tweaking it at all over the beta period. How has it been working overall


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[stevez97]

Beta Testers for any software/product are usually (if not always) not allowed to reveal any information regarding the beta testing progression. That said, I doubt you will receive a reply to your questions.

 

[mdsxfire]

Beta Testers for any software/product are usually (if not always) not allowed to reveal any information regarding the beta testing progression. That said, I doubt you will receive a reply to your questions.

Ehh worth a shot, prob shouldn’t post that ur beta testing, but oh well. Hopefully it just come out soon but after his post saying he was having issues I’m not very optimistic


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[WX4JCW]

Ehh worth a shot, prob shouldn’t post that ur beta testing, but oh well. Hopefully it just come out soon but after his post saying he was having issues I’m not very optimistic


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Depending on how the NDA is worded


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[avistow]

Valid points, but how do you stop the sale of a product? Who really deserves to have one? Unication does not sell the devices. They sell to dealers. Dealers make all the profits above dealer pricing.

Well, let me tell you about my experience here in Toronto, Ontario, Canada...

I contacted Unication directly and spoke with Ashley in Marketing, really nice lady... but since I'm here in Canada, I was to deal with a local Dealer... The local and only Dealer in our Province is about 3 or so hours north in Sudbury... Anyhow, long story short, between the 2 Volunteer Groups I'm with (Fire and SAR), there's about 100 Members, not all would be interested in these units (as rugged Scanners), but a big chunk would be for sure.

After a conversation and few emails, it was determined that the Dealer in Sudbury is a "professional company" and would require a letter from each Department we wanted to have programmed into the unit...

So that right there is how they stop the sale of a product, which is unfortunate, in the short time I've had mine (received as a Christmas gift), everyone I show it to LOVES it! There's literally thousands of people that would love to have these units outside of the Fire & Emergency Services.

 

[mclove]

David

happy new years Unication and David hope they good news comming cant wait

 

[David_Oney]

Im Still Here

I have been very busy with the Phase II Beta tests and travelling back and forth to customer locations diagnosing any issues that our customers are having. I am the field technician as well as all of the other things that I do. So some things have suffered because of all of my other responsibilities. I try to respond to all of the emails that I receive so that is the best way to contact me directly david@unication.com. I will try to monitor the forums when I get a free moment because I personally believe that you all have a lot to offer and have been helpful in recognizing issues in the past. I don't want you guys to ever think that your input isn't appreciated or that I devalue it in any way. Just keep in mind that requests for changes to the software are put on a list and then prioritized by my superiors with my recommendations considered. No matter where they land on the list they all take time to implement. I sincerely hope that you all have a Happy New Year.

 

[jmontes77029]

I appreciate everything that you do David. Keep up the great work!


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